765. Is Cultured Meat Considered Kosher?

Some religions prescribe foods that should not be eaten. On the other hand, advances in food technology are bringing new foods into the world that did not exist before. A situation has arisen in which a decision must be made as to how these new foods should be treated within the religious rules.

Recently, the Chief Rabbi of Judaism expressed the opinion that cultured meat could be kosher. This is the first time a religious leader has officially ruled on how tissue engineered meat should be treated under dietary laws.

Kosher is the Hebrew word for "right" and it describes the Jewish dietary laws. Rabbis (Jewish religious leaders) are supposed to give kosher certification to foods that are considered acceptable to eat.

In the case of meat, this is determined by whether the species of animal is acceptable to eat and whether the method of slaughter and preparation is proper. In this case, the panel ruled that cultured meat steaks from Aleph Farms in Israel should be considered ‘pareve’ (a neutral food that is neither meat nor dairy) because they do not come from a slaughtered animal and do not contain blood. However, there are some controversial opinions, such as that it should not be approved because it is certainly of animal origin, that it is not considered to be from a living animal because it is cultured from stem cells, and that there is a difference between when it is sold as meat and when it is sold as a meat alternative.

Furthermore, even if cultured meat were certified kosher, it seems that cheeseburgers (eating dairy products and meat at the same time) would not be allowed because the behavior which would seem to be a contraindicated act is prohibited.

References

TIME (2023) Israel’s Chief Rabbi Rules That Cultivated Meat Could Be Kosher. Not Everyone Agrees. https://time.com/6251154/lab-grown-meat-kosher-israel-rabbi/ accessed on April 21, 2023.

The Times of Israel (2023) Kosher cheeseburgers? Chief rabbi rules some cultured meat may not be ‘fleishig.’ https://www.timesofisrael.com/kosher-cheeseburgers-chief-rabbi-rules-so… accessed on April 21, 2023.

Pick up 197. Sale of Cultured Meat Approved for the First Time https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/program/program_d/blog/20201217

Pick up 307. Approval of First Insect as Novel Food in the EU https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/program/proc/blog/20210603

Contributor: SHIRATORI Sakiko (Information and Public Relations Office)